From being successful producers and celebrities in the media industry (Nick runs his own TV production company and Vanessa was a presenter on MTV ) Nick and Vanessa are accomplished full time property investors.
Nick and Vanessa share their insights in this interview into why they got involved in property, their success secrets and explode some of the myths associated with full time & armchair investing.
Sometimes we’re just too busy to do it but an hour spent networking could be worth 100 marketing or organizing your business.Graham and John talked to Juswant Rai from the Berkshire Property Meet about networking - why do it and what are the benefits?
Feel free to forward but do take note that I am not offering any investment advice nor am qualified to impart this advice. I write on the basis of the fact that I’ve built a career around understanding consumers and analyzing global markets.
Property prices set for "major correction"
I read with great concern the predictions of leading fund manager John Paulson in the FT today. Quick background on the guy. Paulson, the world’s leading alpha fund manager, made $3.7 billion last year by successfully "shorting" the mortgage market failure back in 2006 - ie he bet on a mortgage market collapse when everyone else was surfing the wave of optimism.
Simultaneously I read with interest the number of posts on another well known investor forum blaming naysayers for "talking us into recession". The irony is that if Paulson’s doing the talking and making nearly $4 bn annually and an increasing number of shortsighted and overoptimistic landlords are being repossessed, whose advice would you rather follow?
So one can assume Paulson knows his stuff when it comes to understanding the mechanics of money markets. His latest predictions focus on the UK market - in which he "anticipated a major correction once longer term interest rates move higher". We have already seen a mid term upward movement in the LIBOR signalling the market is indication the liquidity problems we are currently facing are in fact worsening.
Of major concern is Paulson’s thoughts on the structure of the mortgage markets. "90 percent of the mortgage market", he writes " is supported by two private companies losing vast sums of money operating with no equity". Names such as Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, AMBAC and MBIA may not seem household names for BMVers but these are level 0 in the non-standard liquidity market house of cards.
Goldman Sachs shorted a bunch of developers today with news that earnings would be down 90 percent. Interestingly, there are rumours "on the street" that a major development porfolio is to be liquidated shortly. I’ve just advised my mum not to go ahead and purchase a newbuild on the basis the roof was still missing and yet to complete. Of course there are legal guarantees but no one wants to have their hopes set on one property only for the developer to freeze the project or go under.
Combine this with "expert" predictions that retail gas prices are to rise 40 percent by Christmas we have, perhaps for the first time in 20 years reason to be concerned about the economic fundamentals.
Now whether you think the housing market will remain robust remains irrelevant now because when you have both the world’s leading fund manager and leading investment bank saying it’s heading south, the money follows. Bradford and Bingley’s incoming CEO certainly isn’t going to let Mortgage Express go native and start injecting more capital into the property market.
So what does this mean? It means that the mortgage liquidity problem has yet to really set in. Compound this with a serious upward pressure on fuel and food prices you will see a major squeeze on the residential property market in the next 6 months, with the pain starting to be felt in September.
What does this mean for you?
* Media coverage Look out for newpapers scaremongering "property market crash" as finally some of the london market froth clears.
* Rent and payment defaults to increase Expect rental demand and yields to remain high but defaults also to increase signifiying a greater than ever need to hedge against letting to workers most exposed to the credit crisis.
* HMO utility bills increase HMOs may seem a good option in the current market, but your tenants certainly won’t be open to the prospect of significant rent increases as your utility bills add another £1000 a year to your outgoings.
* Mortgage Charges, ERCs and terms are getting tighter by the day. I am currently very cautious of borrowing through a vehicle on the basis of a later "drawdown" as opposed to a remortgage. Such drawdowns can be withdrawn leaving you with money dead in the deal. Similarly now we’ve moved from back-to-back deals to longer refinancing windows we should also consider that our exit route is no longer certain - these can be pulled at any time.
* Best time to be friends with investors Expect some real property bargains to manifest post Summer when the natural annual optimism turns to the task ahead. 3 beds with two receptions on at 145k last November are now presenting decent HMO or student let’s at offers around 100k. You’ll need to exercise what Robert KIyosaki calls "the ultimate skill" of the entrepreneur - the ability to raise finance. And I’m not talking about filling out a form for MX here but networking and presenting a proposal that speaks in their terms - "yield", "exit strategies" rather than "BMV".
In summary
The next 12 months will see a watershed in the property market separating the entrepreneurial investor from the amateur. The trillions of dollars "lost" in the market didn’t disappear, the simply changed hands.
The point is, as we keep being told, this is a time of opportunity but if you stick to the same old methods, lenders and keep telling everyone not to "talk us into recession" you’ll end up like the ex-owner of the portfolio of 12 properties I visited the other day - overgeared and overstretched heading towards repossession.
Landlords are exiting the market with many either returning to their day jobs or putting speculative activity on hold. Needless to say, less investors means less people to share the profits with.
Paulson noted the "decline is accelerating". Simply waiting for things to get worse before changing your strategy gives you little scope for making a difference. Paulson’s words are highly respected because he has trust with investors, now is the time we have to get out there and court those with liquid assets.
When Brett Grady came to England back in 2003, like most Australians he dreamed of a 2 year stint backpacking and sleeping on mates’ floors. On his second return in 2006 he decided to make something out of his stay in London and tried his hand at property. Within 2 years he had amassed a portfolio worth over £3.5 million without costing him a penny. On this audio, Brett shares some of his thoughts with me on how he did it.
Like most successful entrepreneurs you’ll eventually reach the PLATEAU - the stage at which your business refuses to grow because you end up spending too much time working in your business rather than working on it.
Spending too much time on admin?
John Lee shares some of his insights in growing his own property business that currently deals with between 100 and 300 leads a month. Now that John has reached the plateau he’s finding that 50% of his time is spent with admin, costing him anywhere between 5 and 8 deals a month in lost revenues.
We discuss how using CRM systems such as ZOHO you are able to automate the parts of the business that don’t need your input, share information with partners and work on your leads far more effectively.
This AUDIO programme is FREE, no sign up required.
Learn the secret of property success from leading UK property investor Vanish Patel. Founder of the UK’s leading network for property investors - Property Networking Club, Vanish provides you invaluable insight into networking, goal setting and the distinctions between amateur and professional property investors. Learn from man who has built his property network to over 10,000 investors in 7 years. Vanish addresses key questions asked by both property newbies and professionals alike - How can I build my portfolio while at the same time be able to live a flexible lifestyle? How can I accelerate myself up the property learning curve?
How can I negotiate a 25% BMV deal through an estate agent? John Lee from Complete in 28 days tells you how in our 30 minute audio interview. Actor, mentor and property investor John Lee shares his inside tips with you on how he built his business through negotiating primarily with estate agents rather than Google Adwords or leafletting. John will discuss negotiation tips, the psychology of “doing the deal”, structuring your language to secure a deal and basic tips on how you can get all the agents in your town working to find you BMV deals for free!
Radio Love Property Breakfast Show’s Graham Brown interviews Nick Tadd and Vanessa Warwick - directors of the property networking and investment service 4 Walls and a Ceiling .
Sometimes we’re just too busy to do it but an hour spent networking could be worth 100 marketing or organizing your business.Graham and John talked to 
When Brett Grady came to England back in 2003, like most Australians he dreamed of a 2 year stint backpacking and sleeping on mates’ floors. On his second return in 2006 he decided to make something out of his stay in London and tried his hand at property. Within 2 years he had amassed a portfolio worth over £3.5 million without costing him a penny. On this audio, Brett shares some of his thoughts with me on how he did it.
Learn the secret of property success from leading UK property investor Vanish Patel. Founder of the UK’s leading network for property investors - Property Networking Club, Vanish provides you invaluable insight into networking, goal setting and the distinctions between amateur and professional property investors. Learn from man who has built his property network to over 10,000 investors in 7 years. Vanish addresses key questions asked by both property newbies and professionals alike - How can I build my portfolio while at the same time be able to live a flexible lifestyle? How can I accelerate myself up the property learning curve?
How can I negotiate a 25% BMV deal through an estate agent? John Lee from Complete in 28 days tells you how in our 30 minute audio interview. Actor, mentor and property investor John Lee shares his inside tips with you on how he built his business through negotiating primarily with estate agents rather than Google Adwords or leafletting. John will discuss negotiation tips, the psychology of “doing the deal”, structuring your language to secure a deal and basic tips on how you can get all the agents in your town working to find you BMV deals for free!
